Kelly tells ESPN Radio he’ll settle on one quarterback

He’s said it in interviews before, I’m aware, and today Chip Kelly acknowledged again he intends to settle on one quarterback after Nate Costa and Darron Thomas enter fall camp competing for the starting job.

Kelly’s comments are available here as a podcast, with excerpts below:

Kelly said both Costa and Thomas improved during spring drills, and gave no indication that one leads entering the start of fall camp Aug. 9. But he said he intends to settle on a starter prior to the Sept. 4 opener against New Mexico.

“I really want to have one quarterback,” Kelly said. “I don’t believe in playing two quarterbacks. I believe if you’ve got a two-quarterback system that means you don’t really have a quarterback.”

Kelly did scoff at the idea that one of the freshmen, Daryle Hawkins or Bryan Bennett, could enter the picture. Probably not what those guys would want to hear, but a dose of reality.

Asked about his priorities for his quarterback, Kelly listed distributing the ball to playmakers, not forcing things and making the offense balanced.

“I’d tell that guy, just manage the game and let it come to you,” Kelly said. “Don’t force things, because eventually they can’t cover everybody.”

Costa and Thomas are of course competing for the job because Jeremiah Masoli is no longer at Oregon following his dismissal. We learned today that Kelly and Mississippi coach Houston Nutt have spoken about the prospect of Masoli transferring to Ole Miss.

The ESPN Radio host asked Kelly what kind of recommendation he’d give regarding Masoli to another coach, and Kelly didn’t really bite. But he sounds like he remains an advocate for Masoli, saying that “he’s a good kid, and I hope he gets another shot.”

“I wish the best for Jeremiah,” Kelly said. “I think he’s got a lot of lessons that he has learned, and he’s still learning. He’s not a bad kid; he put himself in some situations that he probably shouldn’t have.”

Masoli’s trouble was only one element of a troubling offseason for the Ducks, which cast a pall over the 2009 Rose Bowl season for Oregon. Kelly said that “last year was interesting,” and said he’s learned that college football coaching can be measured in dog years.

“So I’ve had seven years so far in my first season,” Kelly said. “We had a lot of highs, we had some lows. I think we came through it all right, and we’re excited to get going again.”

Kelly expressed faith the Ducks can adjust to all their issues, citing their ability to sustain success over the last few years. One example he cited was that the 2008 team was “better” than the 2007 team despite the losses of Dennis Dixon, Jonathan Stewart and the other stars from 2007 who didn’t return. The 2008 team won one more game, sure, but if they went head to head while Dixon and Stewart and Jeremiah Johnson were all healthy … well, my money would be on the 2007 guys.